Reflection article | Scientific publications: Knowledge A market or a common good?

Abstract

Scientific publications have become the preferred vehicle to announce advances made in the field of knowledge. In recent decades, the distribution of scientific knowledge has undergone important changes aided by the strong emergence of the Open Access and the so-called open science movements. These changes have brought about a conceptual modification regarding to the past, present, and future of scientific publications. Technological advances have also made it easier and less costly to share knowledge, a situation that is undoubtedly influencing the development of these publications. In this reflection paper we will describe the events that have occured around the distribution of science and will analyze the available information to subsequently scrutinize the present of scientific publications and project the possible immediate future of such important publishing activity. First, we will describe the origins of scientific publication, its achievements, and the establishment of an industrial market, as well as the existence of a prestige emporium and the movements that advocate for a change in the commercial vision of the sector so that science is better served as a common good. In addition, we will review the role of scientific publications in Latin America and the challenges of an industry whose main product is knowledge.